Carrier tape system and methods of using carrier tape system

ABSTRACT

The current disclosure describes carrier tape systems that include a carrier tape substrate and a cover tape. The carrier tape system includes a plurality of repetitive adhesion areas where the carrier tape substrate and cover tape are attached to each other and non-adhesion areas where the carrier tape substrate and cover tape are not attached to each other. Separating the cover tape and the carrier tape substrate at these repetitive adhesion and non-adhesion areas imparts a vibration to the cover tape which impedes or prevents semiconductor devices carried in pockets of the carrier tape substrate from adhering to adhesive on the cover tape.

BACKGROUND

Electronic equipment using semiconductor devices are essential for manymodern applications. With the advancement of electronic technology, thesemiconductor devices are becoming increasingly smaller in size whilehaving greater functionality and greater amounts of integratedcircuitry. Due to the miniaturized scale of the semiconductor device, awafer level chip scale packaging (WLCSP) is widely used for its low costand relatively simple manufacturing operations. During the WLCSPoperation, a number of semiconductor components are assembled on asemiconductor device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the followingdetailed description when read with the accompanying figures. In thedrawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elements or actsunless the context indicates otherwise. The sizes and relative positionsof elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In fact,the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased orreduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example tape and reel packaging system;

FIG. 2A illustrate a top view of a carrier tape system according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B illustrates an enlarged cross-section view of the carrier tapesystem of FIG. 2 along line 2A-2A;

FIG. 2C illustrates an enlarged cross-section view of an alternativenon-adhesion area in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2D illustrates an enlarged cross-section view of an alternativenon-adhesion area according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2E illustrates an enlarged cross-secion view of an alternativenon-adhesion area according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A illustrates a top view of a carrier tape system according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B illustrates an enlarged cross-section view of the carrier tapesystem of FIG. 3 along line 3A-3A;

FIG. 3C illustrates an enlarged cross-section view of an alternativenon-adhesion area according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4A illustrates a top view of a carrier tape system according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4B illustrates an enlarged cross-section view of the carrier tapesystem of FIG. 4 along line 4A-4A;

FIG. 5A illustrates a top view of a carrier tape system according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B illustrates an enlarged cross-section view of the carrier tapesystem of FIG. 5 along line 5A-5A;

FIG. 6 illustrates an enlarged cross-section view of a carrier tapesystem illustrating an alternative non-adhesion area according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates alternative shapes for openings forming a part ofnon-adhesion areas according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a method in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a method in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates a method in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a method in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a method in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Semiconductor devices are shipped to customers in various packagingconfigurations. One example of semiconductor device shipping is based ontape and reel packaging systems. In the tape and reel format, componentsare placed in specifically designed pockets embossed in a carrier tapebody. The pockets may be sealed with a cover tape to hold componentsplaced in the pockets. Sprocket holes may be provided along one or bothmargins of the carrier tape to enable the tape to be moved by automatedequipment. The tape is wound onto a plastic reel for labeling andpackaging before shipment.

Techniques and structures in accordance with embodiments describedherein are directed to novel carrier tape systems for semiconductordevices, cover tapes for use in embodiments of cover tape systemsdescribed herein, carrier tapes for use in embodiments of carrier tapesystems described herein and methods for supplying semiconductor devicesto an apparatus, which in operation, removes semiconductor devices frompockets of a carrier tape system, and in some embodiments places thesemiconductor devices at desired locations. Embodiments of carrier tapesystems, cover tapes, carrier tapes and methods for supplyingsemiconductor devices in accordance with the present disclosureexperience fewer problems than conventional carrier tape systems, covertapes, carrier tapes and methods for supplying semiconductor deviceswith regard to semiconductor devices adhering to a cover tape when thecover tape is removed from a carrier tape in advance of thesemiconductor device being removed from a pocket of the carrier tapesystem.

Cover tape systems in accordance with embodiments described hereininclude a carrier tape that includes a plurality of pockets forreceiving semiconductor devices. The pockets include an opening throughwhich the semiconductor device is passed when a semiconductor device isplaced in a pocket. The disclosed cover tape systems include a covertape including a covering portion positioned directly over the openingwhen the cover tape and carrier tape are mated. The cover tape andcarrier tape are mated together using an adhesive positioned between thecover tape and portions of the carrier tape around the opening, e.g.,along at least a sealing line which runs along the length of the carriertape system. In accordance with embodiments described herein, thecarrier tape system includes a plurality of non-adhesion areas where thecover tape and the carrier tape are not secured to each other by anadhesive or other means. In example embodiments these non-adhesion areasare provided along the sealing line between the carrier tape and thecover tape. In some embodiments, the non-adhesion areas are free ofadhesive or include adhesive that has been covered with a releasematerial that does not adhere to the carrier tape or the cover tape. Inother embodiments, the non-adhesion areas include openings or recessesformed in the carrier tape such that adhesive on portions of the covertape that overlap such openings or recesses has no carrier tape surfaceto which to adhere. In some embodiments, the non-adhesion areas arelocated between the plurality of pockets and at least one of a firstedge, e.g., a longitudinal edge, of the carrier tape and/or a secondedge, e.g., a longitudinal edge, of the carrier tape. The non-adhesionareas result in improved performance of carrier tape systems of thepresent disclosure with respect to reducing occurrences of adhesionbetween the cover tape and a semiconductor device packaged in a pocket.

In some embodiments, the non-adhesion areas include an opening thatpasses through the carrier tape substrate from an upper surface of thecarrier tape substrate to a lower surface of the carrier tape substrateor a recess (which does not pass completely through the carrier tapesubstrate) in a surface of the carrier tape substrate. These openings orrecesses create voids in a surface of the carrier tape substrate. When acover tape is mated with a carrier tape substrate including suchopenings or recesses, cover tape adhesive that overlaps these openingsor recesses has no carrier tape substrate surface to which to adhere,thus providing a non-adhesion area where there is no adhesion betweenthe carrier tape substrate and the cover tape. In other words, the covertape and carrier tape substrate are not adhered to each other at theopening or recess. In some embodiments, a row of non-adhesion areas isprovided on opposite sides of the plurality of pockets in the carriertape substrate and run along the length dimension of the carrier tapesubstrate. In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure,each of the non-adhesion areas is separated from another non-adhesionarea by an adhesion area which includes adhesive securing a portion ofthe carrier tape substrate to a portion of the cover tape. In certainembodiments of the present disclosure, the carrier tape system includesa cover tape that includes a plurality of protrusions which mate withnon-adhesion areas formed in a carrier tape substrate, e.g., openings orrecesses in the carrier tape substrate.

Carrier tape systems in accordance with embodiments described herein areutilized in a method for supplying semiconductor devices to anapparatus, which in operation, removes the semiconductor devices from apocket of the carrier tape system. Such methods include separating acover tape from a carrier tape substrate at one or more of a pluralityof non-adhesion areas of the cover tape system. In accordance with someembodiments the non-adhesion areas are of adhesive and in otherembodiments the non-adhesion areas are opening or recesses formed in thecarrier tape substrate. In some embodiments of the disclosed methods,the non-adhesion areas and adhesion areas are located between aplurality of pockets of the carrier tape substrate and at least one of alongitudinal first edge or a longitudinal second edge of the carriertape substrate.

Providing carrier tape systems in accordance with embodiments describedherein, which include non-adhesion areas along the sealing line betweena cover tape and a carrier tape substrates results in improvedperformance of carrier tape systems of the present disclosure withrespect to reducing occurrences of adhesion between the cover tape and asemiconductor device packaged in the carrier tape systems. In accordancewith embodiments described herein, as the cover tape and carrier tapesubstrate of carrier tape systems in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure are separated, the repeated separation atnon-adhesion areas and adhesion areas causes the cover tape to vibrateat a frequency related to the frequency with which separation at thenon-adhesion areas and adhesion areas occurs. Such vibration impedes orprevents semiconductor devices in the pockets from becoming adhered tothe cover tape.

Cover tapes in accordance with embodiments described herein include acover tape base material and an adhesive layer on the cover tape basematerial. In accordance with embodiments described herein, the adhesivelayer includes a plurality of adhesion areas occupied by an adhesive,and a plurality of non-adhesion areas substantially free of adhesive orwhich include adhesive covered by a release material which does notadhere to the carrier tape substrate. In some embodiments, when suchcover tapes are mated with a carrier tape substrate to form carrier tapesystems in accordance with the present disclosure, the non-adhesionareas are located between a plurality of pockets of the carrier tapesubstrate and at least one of a first longitudinal edge of the carriertape substrate and a second longitudinal edge of the carrier tapesubstrate. Providing a cover tape with such non-adhesion areas resultsin improved performance of carrier tape systems of the presentdisclosure with respect to reducing occurrences of adhesion between thecover tape and a semiconductor device packaged in cover tape systems inaccordance with the present disclosure.

The disclosure herein provides many different embodiments, or examples,for implementing different features of the described subject matter.Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below tosimplify the present description. These are, of course, merely examplesand are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of afirst feature over or on a second feature in the description thatfollows may include embodiments in which the first and second featuresare formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in whichadditional features may be formed between the first and second features,such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. Inaddition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/orletters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose ofsimplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationshipbetween the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

Further, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,”“above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. The spatiallyrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of suchfeatures or a device in use or operation in addition to the orientationdepicted in the figures. The features or device or apparatus may beotherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and thespatially relative descriptors used herein may likewise be interpretedaccordingly.

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of thedisclosure. However, one skilled in the art will understand that thedisclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known structures associated with electronic componentsand fabrication techniques and tape and reel systems have not beendescribed in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the descriptions ofthe embodiments of the present disclosure.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification andclaims that follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, such as“comprises” and “comprising,” are to be construed in an open, inclusivesense, that is, as “including, but not limited to.”

The use of ordinals such as first, second and third does not necessarilyimply a ranked sense of order, but rather may only distinguish betweenmultiple instances of an act or structure.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or“in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singularforms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the contentclearly dictates otherwise. It should also be noted that the term “or”is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the contentclearly dictates otherwise.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a tape and reel packaging system100. The tape and reel packaging system 100 comprises a carrier tape 102and a cover tape 108 which forms a carrier tape system in accordancewith the present disclosure. Exemplary materials for carrier tapesinclude plastic materials, for example polycarbonate, polystyrene orpolyethylene terephthalate. The present disclosure is not limited tocarrier tapes made from polycarbonate, polystyrene, or polyethyleneterephthalate. Embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied tocarrier tapes made from materials other than polycarbonate, polystyreneor polyethylene terephthalate. Carrier tape 102 can exhibit varyingconductive and anti-static qualities to suit different applications;however, the present disclosure is not limited to carrier tapes thatexhibit conductive or antistatic qualities. Carrier tape 102 includespockets 104 for housing a component, e.g., a semiconductor device suchas a surface mount device (207 in FIG. 2A). Pockets 104 may be embossedinto the carrier tape 102, for example, or may be formed in other waysthat do not involve embossing. Pockets 104 may be polygonal in shape,e.g., square, rectangular, pentagonal, hexagonal and the like, or theymay be non-polygonal in shape, e.g., round or oval. Pockets 104 includeopenings 107 through which a component is passed when the component isplaced in a pocket. Sprocket holes 106 are provided along one or bothmargins of a top surface of the carrier tape 102. The sprocket holes 106enable precise detection of the pockets 104 by a pick and place unitwhich is an example of an apparatus for removing components from carriertape 102 and placing the removed components at desired locations. Forexample, the pick and place unit includes a needle or feeder sprocketconfigured to engage the spocket holes 106 thereby registering thepickup head relative to the carrier tape. The pockets 104 are sealedwith a cover tape 108 to hold in place components placed in the pockets104. In accordance with examples of the present disclosure, a cover tapeincludes an adhesive layer that includes a heat-activated adhesive (HAA)or a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA). Polyethylene is an example of anadhesive material that can be used as a primary component of a covertape adhesive; however, embodiments of the present disclosure are notlimited to using a cover tape adhesive having polyethylene as a primarycomponent, cover tape adhesives containing other polymeric material as amajor component can be used as a cover tape adhesive in accordance withthe present disclosures. Embodiments in accordance with the presentdisclosure are not limited to cover tapes that utilize an HAA or PSAadhesive, e.g., embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable tocover tapes that utilize adhesives that are not HAA or PSA. In a tapingprocess in which a cover tape 108 including an HAA is mated with acarrier tape 102, a heated sealing shoe presses the cover tape 108 ontothe edges of the carrier tape 102, thereby sealing the cover tape 108 tothe carrier tape 102 along a sealing line. In an HAA taping process,time, heat, and pressure are controlled for achieving optimum adhesion.After cooling, if the temperature of the HAA is increased after thetaping process, the HAA may soften and increase in tackiness/stickiness.In the taping process in which a cover tape 108 including a PSA is matedwith a carrier tape 102, the cover tape adheres when pressure isapplied. Heat may be not required to activate the bond when a PSA isused. In some embodiments, the PSA remains sticky even after the covertape 108 has been mated with the carrier tape 102. When the HAA or PSAis sticky and the semiconductor device in the pocket contacts suchsticky adhesive, the semiconductor device may stick to the HAA or PSA.Sticking of the semiconductor device to the cover tape can also occurthrough the presence of adhesive residue that is present on a surface ofthe semiconductor device face the cover tape 108. Such adhesive residuecan originate from processing of the semiconductor device prior topackaging the semiconductor device in the carrier tape 102. The carriertape 102 sealed to the cover tape 108 by the adhesive is wound onto areel 110. Labels 112 may be placed on the reel 110 comprising any kindof information, for example customer name, device part number, productdate code, and quantity in the reel. Bar codes may be part of thelabels.

FIGS. 2A 2B show an enlarged view of the top of a carrier tape system202 (FIG. 2A) and FIG. 2B shows a cross-section of carrier tape system202 taken along line 2A-2A in FIG. 2A. Carrier tape system 202 includesa carrier tape substrate 204 which includes a plurality of pockets 206for receiving semiconductor devices and a plurality of sprocket holes208. In order to improve clarity, semiconductor devices have beenomitted from the plurality of pockets 206. The plurality of pockets 206are aligned in a row along a length dimension of the carrier tape system202 and the plurality of sprocket holes 208 are aligned in a row alongthe length dimension of carrier tape system 202. Carrier tape system 202further includes a cover tape 210 overlying carrier tape substrate 204.A portion of the underside of cover tape 210 is adhered to a portion ofthe topside of carrier tape substrate 204 at adhesion areas 250 by anadhesive (see adhesive 212 in FIGS. 2B-2D) between cover tape 210 andcarrier tape substrate 204. In accordance with some embodiments, carriertape substrate 204 and cover tape 210 are adhered to each other along asealing line 214 and a sealing line 216 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to adheringcarrier tape substrate 204 and cover tape 210 along sealing lines 214and 216. For example, carrier tape substrate 204 and cover tape 210 canbe adhered to each other by an adhesive at locations outside of sealinglines 214 and 216. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2A, sealingline 214 and sealing line 216 are located on opposite sides of pockets206 and are arranged in rows extending along the length dimension ofcarrier tape system 202. Sealing line 214 is located between the row ofthe plurality of pockets 206 and a first longitudinal edge 215 ofcarrier tape system 202 and sealing line 216 is located between the rowof the plurality of pockets 206 and the row of sprocket holes 208. Therow of sprocket holes 208 are located between the plurality of pockets206 and a second longitudinal edge 217. In accordance with embodimentsillustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, carrier tape substrate 204 includes aplurality openings 218 that pass through carrier tape substrate 204 anddefine non-adhesion areas 251 of carrier tape system 202 of FIGS. 2A and2B. Openings 218 result in voids in carrier tape substrate 204 to whichadhesive on cover tape 210 cannot adhere. Thus, in accordance withembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, areas of non-adhesion 251between cover tape 210 and carrier tape substrate 204 exist at openings218. These non-adhesion areas 251 are separated from each other by areasof adhesion 250 (corresponding to areas of carrier tape substrate 204which remain after openings 218 have been formed) where adhesive oncover tape 210 is able to contact a portion of carrier tape substrate204. Openings 218 are formed in carrier tape substrate 204 by punchingor similar technique. Openings 218 are formed at the same time pockets206 are formed in carrier tape substrate 204 or may be formed at a timedifferent from when pockets 206 are formed in carrier tape substrate204. The size of openings 218 can vary; however, the size of openings218 are not be so large that openings 218 overlap pockets 206 and eithersprocket holes 208 or a longitudinal edge of carrier tape substrate 202.When openings 218 are round, their diameter can range from about 1 μm to1500 μm; however, openings 218 can have a diameter that is less than 1μm and greater than 1500 μm. By comparision, in some embodiments,pockets 206 have length and width dimensions that are on the order ofone to two or more orders of magnitude larger than the diameter ofopenings 218. In some embodiments, the depth of pockets 206 can be 2 to10 or more times the diameter of openings 218. In some embodiments,sprocket holes 208 include diameters that are 3 to 5 or more timeslarger than the diameter of openings 218.

In operation, cover tape 210 is separated from carrier tape 204 byovercoming the bond between cover tape 210 and carrier tape 204 createdby the adhesive 212. Such separation is achieved by causing cover tape210 and carrier tape 204 to move in substantially opposite directionswith sufficient force to overcome the adhesion provided by adhesive 212.When cover tape 210 and carrier tape 204 move in substantially oppositedirections with sufficient force to overcome the adhesion of adhesive212, they separate from each other in adhesion areas 250. When theseparating cover tape 210 and carrier tape 204 encounter a non-adhesionarea 251 the absence of adhesion between cover tape 210 and carrier tape204 at the non-adhesion area 251 in combination with the force beingapplied to separate cover tape 210 from carrier tape 204 results in thecover tape vibrating. The frequency at which the cover tape vibrates asit is separated from the carrier tape at the alternating adhesion areas250 and non-adhesion areas 251 in accordance with embodiments describedherein depend in part on the rate at which the cover tape is separatedfrom the carrier tape (e.g., in mm/min) and the distance betweenadjacent non-adhesion areas. The spacing between adjacent openings 218can vary. In accordance with disclosed embodiments, spacing betweenadjacent openings 218 ranges between 1 μm and 1500 μm; however, thespacing between adjacent openings 218 is not limited to this range andthe spacing can be less than 1500 μm or greater than 1 μm. The spacingbetween adjacent openings 218 can be chosen so that the vibrationimparted to the cover tape as it is separated from the carrier tape isbetween 1 Hz and 1000 Hz. The frequency at which the cover tape vibratesas it is separated from the carrier tape in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein will depend on the rate at which the cover tape isseparated from the carrier tape (e.g., in mm/min) and the distancebetween adjacent non-adhesion areas. The vibration of the cover tape mayalso be affected by the alignment of openings 218 of seal line 214 andseal line 216. For example, openings 218 that are bisected by line 2A-2Ain FIG. 2A are aligned along a width direction of the carrier tapesubstrate. In other embodiments, openings 218 of seal line 214 are notaligned with openings 218 of seal line 216 with respect to the widthdirection of the carrier tape substrate. Such misalignment will affectthe vibration of the cover tape as it is separated from the carrier tapesubstrate.

Referring to FIG. 2C, an alternative embodiment of a non-adhesion areais illustrated whereby a recess 220, which does not pass completelythrough carrier tape substrate 204 is provided in an upper surface ofcarrier tape substrate 204 which is adjacent cover tape 210. Similar toopening 218, recess 220 produces a void in a surface of carrier tapesubstrate 204 to which adhesive on a portion of carrier tape 210 thatoverlaps recess cannot adhere. Recesses 220 are formed in carrier tapesubstrate 204 by punching, embossing or similar technique. Recesses 220are formed at the same time pockets 206 are formed in carrier tapesubstrate 204 or may be formed at a time different from when pockets 206are formed in carrier tape substrate 204. When recess 220 is round, it'sdiameter measured at an upper surface of carrier tape substrate 204 canrange from about 1 μm to about 1500 μm; however, recess 220 can have adiameter at an upper surface of carrier tape substrate 204 that is lessthan 1 μm and greater than 1500 μm. Recess 220 is not so deep that itextends completely through carrier tape substrate 204, and thus, thedepth of recess 220 is less than the thickness of carrier tape substrate204. In some embodiments, recess 220 is about 5 to 15 microns deep.

Referring to FIG. 2D, an alternative embodiment of a non-adhesion area251 is illustrated. In the illustrated embodiment, non-adhesion area 251results due to the layer of adhesive 212 between carrier tape substrate204 and cover tape 210 being patterned to include portions 222 that arefree of adhesive or as illustrated in FIG. 2E which include adhesivethat has been covered by a release material 253 (see FIG. 2E) that doesnot adhere to either the carrier tape substrate 204 or the cover tape210. Adhesive layer 212 can be patterned using techniques analogous tophotolithography or by printing the adhesive on either the cover tape210 or carrier tape substrate 204 in a desired pattern to provideadhesive-free portions 222. Suitable release materials may includepolyethyelene terephthalate (PET) and the like. The release materialscan be provided on portions of the adhesive layer by printing therelease material on the adhesive layer in a desired pattern or othersimilar printing, or patterning techniques.

Referring to FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C, alternative embodiments of shapes foropenings 218 and recesses 220 are illustrated. In the embodiments ofFIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C openings 218 and recesses 220 are annular in shape.Other features of a carrier tape system 202 illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3Band 3C are similar to or identical to the features of carrier tapesystem 202 described with reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C and thus, thedescription of these features with reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2Capplies to those same features in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C. In accordancewith embodiments described herein with reference to FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C,a non-adhesion area is provided in the same manner as described abovewith reference to FIG. 3D, namely, by providing a layer of adhesive 212between carrier tape substrate 204 and cover tape 210 that includesportions 222 in an annular shape that are free of adhesive or whichinclude adhesive that has been covered by a release material (not shown)that does not adhere to either the carrier tape substrate 204 or thecover tape 210.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, alternative embodiments of shapes foropenings 218 are illustrated. In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 4Aand 4B, openings 218 are elongated rectangles or ovals arranged at anoblique angle relative to the longitudinal edges of carrier tape system202. Though not illustrated, in other embodiments of the presentdisclosure, recesses 220 that are elongated rectangles or ovals in shapeand arranged at an oblique angle relative to the longitudinal edges ofcarrier tape system 202 are contemplated by the present disclosure.Similarly, a non-adhesion area can be provided in the same manner asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 3D, namely, by providing a layerof adhesive 212 between carrier tape substrate 204 and cover tape 210that include portion 222 that are rectangular or oval in shape andarranged at an oblique angle relative to a longitudinal edge of thecarrier tape substrate 204 and are free of adhesive or which includeadhesive that has been covered by a release material (not shown) thatdoes not adhere to either the carrier tape substrate 204 or the covertape 210.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, alternative embodiments of shapes ofopenings 218 are illustrated. In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 5Aand 5B, openings 218 are arrowhead-shaped. Though not illustrated, inother embodiments of the present disclosure, recesses 220 that arearrowhead-shaped are contemplated by the present disclosure. Similarly,a non-adhesion area can be provided in the same manner as describedabove with reference to FIG. 3D, namely, by providing a layer ofadhesive 212 between carrier tape substrate 204 and cover tape 210 thatincludes portions 222 that are arrowhead-shaped and free of adhesive orwhich include adhesive that has been covered by a release material (notshown) that does not adhere to either the carrier tape substrate 204 orthe cover tape 210.

Referring to FIG. 6, in accordance with other embodiments, carrier tapesubstrate 204 includes openings 218 which pass from a lower surface 224to an upper surface 226 of carrier tape substrate 204. In theembodiments illustrated in FIG. 6, the size of opening 218 at lowersurface 224 is smaller than the size of opening 218 at upper surface 226of carrier tape substrate 204. Though not illustrated in FIG. 6, opening218 can also be a recess 220, which does not extend completely throughcarrier tape substrate 204 from upper surface 226 to lower surface 224.In such embodiments, the size of recess 220 at upper surface 226 isgreater than the size of recess 222 below upper surface 226. Inaddition, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, cover tape 210includes a recess 230 in its upper surface 232 and a protrusion 234 inits lower surface 236. In accordance with some embodiments, protrusion234 is sized and located so that it mates with and at least a portion ofprotrusion 234 is received within opening 218 (or recess 220 not shownin FIG. 6) at upper surface 226 of cover tape 210. The presence ofprotrusions 234 assists with alignment of cover tape 210 and carriertape substrate 204.

Openings 218 in FIG. 2A are illustrated as being round; however,embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure are not limited toopenings 218 that are round. For example, FIG. 7 illustrates a pluralityof different shapes for openings 218, including square, pentagonal,hexagonal and triangular shapes. FIG. 7 illustrates a top view of fivedifferent shapes for opening 218, including a round opening asillustrated in FIG. 2A. As described above, these different shapes ofopenings 218 extend completely through carrier tape substrate 204 orthey may not extend completely through carrier tape substrate 204, inwhich case they form a recess 220 in carrier tape substrate 204.Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the size of opening 218 canchange as opening 218 extends through carrier substrate 204. In FIG. 6,opening 218 is illustrated as becoming smaller in size as opening 218extends from upper surface 226 to lower surface 224; however,embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to opening 218 orrecess 220 decreasing in size as it extends from upper surface 226towards lower surface 224. In embodiments wherein the size of opening218 or recess 220 decreases as it extends from upper surface 226 towardslower surface 224, the ratio of the size of the opening 218 at uppersurface 226 to the size of the opening at the lower surface 224 is about1.1 to 1.3.

Referring to FIG. 8, embodiments of the present disclosure include amethod 800 for producing cover tapes useful in carrier tape systems inaccordance with the present disclosure. In the illustrated method 800, acover tape base material is provided at step 820. At step 830, a covertape adhesive is applied to a surface of the cover tape base material.Portions of the cover tape adhesive applied to a surface of the covertape base material are removed in order to define areas on the surfaceof the cover tape base material which are free of adhesive, e.g.,non-adhesion areas. As discussed above, the portions of the cover tapeadhesive can be removed by techniques analogous to photolithography orthey can be removed by mechanical means, such as punching or similartechniques.

Referring to FIG. 9, in accordance with other embodiments of the presentdisclosure, method 900 illustrates a method for providing a cover tapeuseful in carrier tape systems in accordance with the presentdisclosure. In the illustrated method 900 of FIG. 9, a cover tape basematerial is provided at step 910. A film of cover tape adhesive ispatterned at step 922 to remove portions of the cover tape adhesivefilm, for example by punching or similar technique to remove portions ofthe film of cover tape adhesive. Alternatively, the film of cover tapeadhesive may be patterned using techniques analogous to photolithographytechniques or stenciling. At step 930, the resulting patterned film ofcover tape adhesive is combined with the cover tape base material. Theresulting combination is a cover tape which includes portions that arefree of adhesive (non-adhesive areas) and portions that are not free ofadhesive (adhesive areas).

Referring to FIG. 10, in accordance with other embodiments of thepresent disclosure, method 700 illustrates another method for providinga cover tape useful in carrier tape systems in accordance with thepresent disclosure. In the illustrated method 700 of FIG. 10, a covertape base material is provided at step 720. At step 730, a pattern ofcover tape adhesive is applied to the cover tape base material, forexample by printing or stenciling a pattern of cover tape adhesive onthe cover tape base material. The cover tape adhesive may be printed onthe cover tape base material using inkjet printer techniques or theadhesive may be printed on the cover tape base material through astencil comprising the desired pattern of adhesive. The resulting covertape includes portions that are free of adhesive (non-adhesive areas)and portions that are not free of adhesive (adhesive areas).

Referring to FIG. 11, in accordance with other embodiments of thepresent disclosure, method 500 illustrates another method for providinga cover tape useful in carrier tape systems in accordance with thepresent disclosure. In the illustrated method 500 of FIG. 11, a covertape base material is provided at step 510. At step 520, a cover tapeadhesive is applied to a surface of the cover tape base material. Arelease material is applied to the cover tape adhesive at step 530. Therelease material is applied as a blanket film and then subsequentlypatterned to remove portions of the release material or the releasematerial is applied in a pattern producing portions of the cover tapeadhesive that are covered by the release material and portions of thecover tape material that are not covered by the release material. Therelease material can be applied using techniques similar to thosedescribed above with regard to applying the cover tape adhesive to thecover tape base material and can be patterned using techniques similarto those described above with regard to patterning the cover tapeadhesive. The resulting cover tape includes non-adhesion areas where therelease material is present and the cover tape is unable to adhere to acarrier tape and adhesion areas where the release material is notpresent and the cover tape is able to adhere to a carrier tape.

The methods described above with reference to FIGS. 8-11 relate toforming a carrier tape system whereby the non-adhesion areas inaccordance with embodiments described herein are provided by a patternof adhesive on a cover tape or a pattern of adhesive and releasematerial on a cover tape. The present disclosure is not limited toproviding non-adhesion areas using the methods described above withregard to FIGS. 8-11. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, acarrier tape system including non-adhesion areas is formed by providinga carrier tape substrate that includes the desired pattern of adhesiveor desired pattern of adhesive covered by a release material on thecarrier tape substrate. In other embodiments described above, a carriertape system including non-adhesion areas is formed by providing openingsor recesses in a carrier tape substrate and combining such carrier tapesubstrate with a cover tape that includes an adhesive layer.

Referring to FIG. 12, methods in accordance with the presently disclosedembodiments include a method 600, for supplying a semiconductor deviceto an apparatus, which in operation, removes the semiconductor devicefrom a pocket of a carrier tape system. In accordance with the method600, at step 610, a carrier tape system is provided. The carrier tapesystem includes a plurality of adhesion areas and non-adhesion areas.The carrier tape system also includes a carrier tape substrate whichincludes a plurality of pockets containing semiconductor devices. Insome embodiments, the plurality of adhesion areas and non-adhesion areasare arranged in at least one row extending along a length of the carriertape system between the plurality of pockets and a longitudinal edge ofthe carrier tape system. A cover tape is adhered to the carrier tapesubstrate by the plurality of adhesion areas. In accordance with method600, at step 620, the carrier tape substrate is separated from the covertape at an adhesion area. At step 630, the carrier tape substrate isseparated from the cover tape at a non-adhesion area. At step 640, asemiconductor device is removed from a pocket. In accordance with someembodiments, steps 620 and 630 by repeated multiple times before one ofthe semiconductor devices is removed from a pocket. In subsequent steps(not illustrated), the removed semiconductor device is placed at adesired location.

The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that thoseskilled in the art may better understand the aspects of the presentdescription. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they mayreadily use the present description as a basis for designing ormodifying other processes and structures for carrying out the samepurposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodimentsintroduced herein. Those skilled in the art should also realize thatsuch equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present description, and that they may make various changes,substitutions, and alterations herein without departing from the spiritand scope of the present description.

In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not beconstrued to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed inthe specification and the claims, but should be construed to include allpossible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to whichsuch claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by thedisclosure.

The present disclosure may be further appreciated with the descriptionof the following embodiments:

In a structure embodiment, a carrier tape system for semiconductordevice includes a cover tape and a carrier tape substrate that includesa first edge and a second edge extending along a length of the carriertape substrate. The carrier tape substrate includes a plurality ofpockets located between the first edge of the carrier tape substrate andthe second edge of the carrier tape substrate. The pockets areconfigured to accommodate the semiconductor device. The carrier tapesubstrate also includes a plurality of non-adhesion areas arranged in afirst row along the length of the carrier tape substrate and a pluralityof non-adhesion areas arranged in a second row along the length of thecarrier tape substrate. The first row of non-adhesion areas is locatedon one side of the plurality of pockets and the second row ofnon-adhesion areas is located on a side of the plurality of pocketsdifferent from the side of the plurality of pockets where the first rowof non-adhesion areas is located.

A carrier tape system embodiment of the present disclosure includes acover tape and carrier tape substrate having a length. The carrier tapesubstrate further includes a plurality of pockets for semiconductordevices and a plurality of non-adhesion areas arranged in a row alongthe length of the carrier tape area on one side of the pockets. Thecarrier tape system includes a second plurality of non-adhesion areas isarranged in a second row along the length of the carrier tape and on aside of the pockets opposite from the side of the pockets where thefirst row of non-adhesion areas is arranged.

A method embodiment relates to a method for removing semiconductordevices from a pocket of a carrier tape. The method includes separatinga cover tape from a carrier tape substrate. The carrier tape substratehaving a width and a length, a plurality of pockets each containing atleast one of the semicondcutor devices, a plurality of non-adhesionareas arranged in a first row along the length of the carrier tapesubstrate and a plurality of non-adhesion areas arranged in a second rowalong the length of the carrier tape substrate. The first row ofnon-adhesion areas is located on one side of the plurality of pocketsand the second row of non-adhesion areas is located on a side of theplurality of pockets different from the side of the plurality of pocketswhere the first row of non-adhesion areas is located. The methodincludes separating the cover tape from the carrier tape substrate atone or more of the plurality of non-adhesion areas and separating thecover tape from the carrier tape substrate at one or more of a pluralityof adhesion areas. With the cover tape removed, at least one of thesemiconductor device is removed from the plurality of pockets.

A method embodiment relates to a method for removing a semiconductordevices from a pocket of a carrier tape. The method includes separatingthe cover tape from the carrier tape substrate, wherein the carrier tapesubstrate includes a plurality of non-adhesion areas between a pluralityof pockets for semiconductor devices and a longitudinal edge of thecarrier tape substrate. The method further include separating the covertape from the carrier tape substrate at one or more of a plurality of-adhesion areas, the adhesion areas being arranged between thenon-adhesion areas and between the plurality of pockets forsemiconductor devices and the longitudinal edge of the carrier tapesubstrate.

1. A carrier tape system for a semiconductor device comprising: a covertape; a carrier tape substrate (204) including a first edge (215) and asecond edge (217), the first edge of the carrier tape substrate and thesecond edge of the carrier tape substrate extending along a length ofthe carrier tape substrate, the carrier tape substrate including: aplurality of pockets (206) between the first edge (202) of the carriertape substrate and the second edge (204) of the carrier tape substrateand configured to accommodate the semiconductor device (207), and aplurality of non-adhesion areas (251) arranged in a first row along thelength of the carrier tape substrate and a plurality of non-adhesionareas (251) arranged in a second row along the length of the carriertape substrate, the first row of non-adhesion areas located on one sideof the plurality of pockets and the second row of non-adhesion areaslocated on a side of the plurality of pockets different from the side ofthe plurality of pockets where the first row of non-adhesion areas islocated.
 2. The carrier tape of claim 1, wherein each of the pluralityof non-adhesion areas includes an opening through the carrier tapesubstrate or a recess in a surface of the carrier tape substrate.
 3. Thecarrier tape of claim 1, wherein the carrier tape substrate furtherincludes a plurality of sprocket holes, the plurality of non-adhesionareas located between the plurality of pockets and the sprocket holes.4. The carrier tape of claim 1, wherein the plurality of non-adhesionareas are aligned in a first row extending parallel to the length of thecarrier tape substrate.
 5. The carrier tape of claim 4, furthercomprising a second row of aligned non-adhesion areas, the second row ofaligned non-adhesion areas located on a side of the plurality of pocketsopposite the side of the plurality of pockets where the first row ofaligned non-adhesion areas is located.
 6. The carrier tape of claim 1,wherein each of the plurality of non-adhesion areas is separated fromanother one of the plurality of non-adhesion areas by an adhesion area.7. The carrier tape of claim 6, wherein the adhesion areas are alignedwith the plurality of non-adhesion areas.
 8. A method for removingsemiconductor devices from a pocket of a carrier tape, the methodcomprising: separating a cover tape (210) from a carrier tape substrate(204), the carrier tape substrate having a width and a length, aplurality of pockets (206) each containing at least one of thesemicondcutor devices, a plurality of non-adhesion areas (251) arrangedin a first row along the length of the carrier tape substrate and aplurality of non-adhesion areas (251) arranged in a second row along thelength of the carrier tape substrate, the first row of non-adhesionareas located on one side of the plurality of pockets and the second rowof non-adhesion areas located on a side of the plurality of pocketsdifferent from the side of the plurality of pockets where the first rowof non-adhesion areas is located; separating the cover tape from thecarrier tape substrate at one or more of the plurality of non-adhesionareas; separating the cover tape from the carrier tape substrate at oneor more of a plurality of adhesion areas (250); and removing the atleast one semiconductor device from the plurality of pockets.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the separating the cover tape from thecarrier tape substrate at one or more of the plurality of non-adhesionareas includes separating the cover tape from an opening through thecarrier tape substrate or a recess in a surface of the carrier tapesubstrate.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first row ofnon-adhesion areas extends parallel to the length of the carrier tapesubstrate.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the separating the covertape from the carrier tape substrate at one or more of the plurality ofnon-adhesion areas includes separating the carrier tape substrate from aportion of the cover tape free of adhesive or a portion of the covertape that includes adhesive with a release material on the adhesive. 12.The method of claim 8, wherein the a plurality of adhesion areas alignedwith the plurality of non-adhesion layers of the first row.
 13. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the cover tape includes a first edgeextending along a length of the cover tape, the cover tape including aplurality of protrusions aligned in a row, the row of protrusionsextending parallel to the first edge of the cover tape and mating withthe plurality of non-adhesion areas of the first row.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the separating the cover tape from the carrier tapesubstrate at one or more of the plurality of non-adhesion areas includesseparating the plurality of protrusions from the plurality ofnon-adhesion areas of the first row.
 15. A method for removingsemiconductor devices from a pocket of a carrier tape, the methodcomprising: separating a cover tape (210) from a carrier tape substrate(204), the carrier tape substrate including a first edge (215) extendingalong a length of the carrier tape substrate and a second edge (217)extending along the length of the carrier tape substrate and a pluralityof pockets (206) between the first edge and the second edge, each pocketcontaining at least one of the semiconductor devices; separating thecover tape from the carrier tape substrate at one or more of a pluralityof non-adhesion areas (251) between the plurality of pockets and thefirst edge of the carrier tape substrate; separating the cover tape fromthe carrier tape substrate at one or more of a plurality of adhesionareas (250) between the plurality of pockets and the first edge of thecarrier tape substrate; and removing the at least one semiconductordevice from one of the plurality of pockets.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the semiconductor devices are surface mount devices.
 17. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the separating the cover tape from thecarrier tape substrate causes the carrier tape substrate to vibrate. 18.The method of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of non-adhesionareas includes an opening through the carrier tape substrate or a recessin the surface of the carrier tape substrate.
 19. The method of claim15, wherein each of the plurality of non-adhesion areas include aportion of the cover tape free of adhesive or a portion of the covertape that includes adhesive with a release material on the adhesive. 20.The method of claim 15, wherein the cover tape includes a first edgeextending along a length of the cover tape, the cover tape including aplurality of protrusions aligned in a row, the row of protrusionsextending parallel to the first edge of the cover tape.